Monday, December 14, 2009

Vacation, fudge and is it hot in here ???

Most people aspire to a vacation involving someplace on a beach or poolside where they have cabana boys serving them drinks, accompanied with breathtaking sights and yummy food. Not me. If it is vacation, my thoughts turn to one challenging, stimulating, sweat producing activity- cleaning my carpet ! Sure you may laugh, but as a homeschooling mom things can get to be a little crazy around here and there will be weeks where it is a miracle that dusting happens. Forget about anything else more complicated ! So now that we are on a 3 week break from school, I can indulge in all the domestic Tomfoolery I desire. We have a tan wall to wall carpet in here that seems to be unnaturally attracted to dirt. I really HATE carpeting, but when you rent , you are kind of stuck with what is there. Hubby is off for the next 2 weeks - he plans vacation to coincide with the most busy events of the liturgical year. Christmas shopping funds have not come yet, so it is the perfect time to tackle the beast. Note on the Christmas shopping funds- this is our normal situation, and for that reason we never begin any gift buying till December 15th. This would make some people insane, but we adore it . It really makes the season of Advent come alive.

I have gotten two rooms tackled in the last two days, and we have been able to catch up on some movies that we have missed.Work a few hours on he beast and then spend some time in entertainment. So far we have gotten tosee Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince , Up and Julia and Julie. I ADORED Julia and Julie and think Merryl Streep should win an Oscar for that one. To go with the entertainment I bent one of my rules and made one holiday treat to snack on while watching the films. I was not going to , but it was one of those recipes that had me very curious to see if it would even work, and I was itching to try it out. It did work very well, and the guys told me this is one they would LOVE to have me make again. May I present to you Low Carb Fudge ( not my picture- I forgot to snap a photo!)



Low Carb Fudge

1/4 cup butter or transfat free margarine
2 squares Bakers Chocolate
2 cups Splenda
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz non fat cream cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a pan melt the butter and chocolate till smooth. Add the vanilla and splenda, stir to mix well. Pour in a bowl and add the cream cheese and nuts. Beat until smooth and pour into a 9x9 pan. Refrigerate till firm and cut into squares.

An excellent chocolate flavor , creamy texture and firms up just like any other fudge. Can produce something that looks like sharks in the midst of a feeding frenzy if caution is not observed.

While I was cleaning between films , I was thinking about my own weight loss journey and came to the conclusion that the low carb approach is best for my body, and that if I simply stick with that approach my body will cooperate the best it is able. Weight Watchers and strict calorie based approaches not only do not work for me , as evidenced by the last 2 years, AND make other conditions a lot worse. When I have been doing low carb the weight moves slowly but consistently , and more important is that it helps both my PCOS and arthritis become more managable. For different reasons I stop and try other methods, and I am always dissapointed with the results. Not only do I get to deal with PCOS , but I have added another wild card to my biological make up. I am 51 and fast becoming menopausal. Peri-menopause and menopause present their own challenges to the endocrine system, and the rules that always seemed to work for weight loss go right out the window for every woman at this time. So does just about everything else that seemed normal in life for that matter. You do not have the same stamina, endurance, tolerance, focus or anything else. Even sex - your desire, response, receptivity and so forth goes through great changes.It's not all in your head, but you often wonder exactly where your head is at. It becomes almost like you are an alien living in this strange land that you had only heard about but doubt it existed.I belive this is why some claim that woman has 3 lives; that of a child/maiden, mother and crone. The transition from little girl to woman is a turbulent time, much like spring storms. Then we glide smoothly until one day we discover our bodies contain a little visitor and everything about us changes once again. This time it is more subtle to our perception but obvious to the world around us. After we give birth and return to a new "normal", we swim along until one day the greatest change of them all begins to happen to us. This one is subtle on the exterior, but internally more turbulent then the spring rains and more altering than our growing bellies were. This change is one that sharpens your internal wisdom and forces your body to slow down, reflect and find the true gold in life . Suddenly things like sleeping, sitting on the floor, being in drafts and weight loss operate in a whole different way for us. In exchange we are given clarity to really see things without the distractions of our biological clocks ticking away. We trade old goals for new ones, and it really is pretty good once we accept our new reality. Rather than fight the process, I intend to swim with it. Low carb is simply going to be the most affective paddle at my disposal.

3 comments:

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

Yes, I agree you should do what works for you! Stick with what you know and give it time!

Low carb fudge or any fudge for that matter = feeding frenzy!!!

JC said...

Thanks for the receipe. I will have to try it. You are right about doing what works for you. It appears with new receipes that low carb may become easier to stick with. Sorry I've been away so long. I missed U.

Diane Fit to the Finish said...

Life is an ever evolving process, very well put Diane.

I too loved that Julie & Julia movie. I hope Meryl does win the Oscar - she just embodied Julia Childs!